【推荐1】My son had just gotten his driving license. On the way home, I ______ the car to a side road, unfastened my seat belt, and ______ places with him. “Okay,” I said, “I want you to drive home.”

Sitting behind the steering wheel, his body looked tense and ______ . “Mom,” he said quietly, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready.”

“It’s okay!” I said, “You’re ______ going to feel ready. You just have to go for it.”

“No,” he took a deep breath and ______ my father’s words. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits. You told me that!” For a brief moment, time ______ I saw the very old photograph forever ______ in my memory. It shows my family standing arm in arm and ______ for the camera, with the then tallest roller coaster (过山车) we decided to ride together in the background. No one knew I was ______ terrified. I just didn’t want to be the one to stay behind. We ______ our way up the line and finally reached the end. Suddenly, my body was stiff (僵硬的) with ______ , and I knew: I just couldn’t do it. Too ______ to face my family, I simply called over my shoulder to Dad that I was leaving. Dad asked me what happened. “I guess I was too chicken. Sorry.” What Dad said next ______ surprised me. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits,” he said, “And don’t let someone make you do something you’re not comfortable with. I’m proud of you for the choice you made.” This was the exact ______ of what I had expected him to say.

Instantly, I understood exactly how my son felt. Knowing the limits isn’t an ______ of weakness. It’s actually a sign of strength.

【推荐2】Once upon a time, a daughter________to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to________it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon________.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He________three pots with water and placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter complained and________waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes, he________the turners (开关). He took them out of the pot and put them in a bowl. Turning to his daughter, he asked, “Dear baby, what do you see now?”

“Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she quickly replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were________. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she________ the hard-boiled eggs. Finally, he asked her to sip (抿) the coffee. “Dad, what does this really mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans had each faced the same boiling water. However, they________differently. They went in strong, hard, but in the boiling water, they became soft and weak. The eggs were fragile (易碎) with the thin outer shell protecting their liquid inside until they were put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were ________ . After they were________to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When the________ knocks on your door, how do you________? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

“Dad, I want to be a coffee bean,” said the daughter.

All his________paid off and the daughter realized that in life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly ________is what happens within us.

【推荐3】Several days ago, I went to visit a nursing home with my friends for the first time.Our ______ was to keep the elderly company, so we made them cards and cookies, and prepared ______ to keep them entertained such as songs and talk shows.

To be honest, I didn't know what to ______. It was hard to imagine the difference we could make to their life, as we were just a group of strangers giving them a visit.But now I know we shouldn't underestimate (低估) a stranger's ability to ______ another's life because the effects can be great.

I would have never known how amazing the effects of my visit to the nursing home would be ______ I hadn't experienced it myself.After ______ the elderly and speaking to them one on one, I was amazed by how much they ______ my visit.Perhaps they felt lonely or abandoned before, but now tears of ______ could be seen in their eyes.Maybe all that people need is to know they are cared for, even by a stranger.

Moreover, I was ______ by the optimism (乐观) they had for their future, even at an old age.They were so active in spirit, regardless of their weak ______. They were selfless enough to tell me to ______ myself, even if they were the ones in wheelchairs.It taught me that happiness could exist even at an old age, regardless of discouraging circumstances or health that is getting ______.

I ______ that the rewards of volunteering are a twoway street.Volunteers can also ______ a lot when they give their time to help others, whether a new opinion towards life, or a warm smile.

Volunteer when you have time because it ______ is a beauty.

【推荐1】Vanessa Bryant made her first public comment Wednesday since the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant and one of their daughters.

“We are completely devastated (摧毁) by the_________loss of my adoring husband, Kobe-the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful and wonderful daughter, and amazing_________to Natalia, Bianka and Capri,” Vanessa Bryant wrote.

The Bryants would have_________their 19th wedding anniversary this April. They had four daughters including Natalia, Bianka, Capri and the 13-year-old Gianna who died in the crash.

“There aren’t_________words to describe our pain right now,” Vanessa Bryant wrote. “I take_________in knowing that Kobe and Gigi both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so fortunate to have them in our_________. I wish they were here with us_________. They were our beautiful blessings_________from us too soon.”

“I’m not sure what our lives hold_________today, and it’s impossible to__________life without them,” Vanessa Bryant continued, “But we wake up each day,__________to go ahead because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to__________the way. Our love for them is__________. I just wish I could hug them, kiss them and have them here with us right now.”

There has been no__________on funeral or memorial plans yet for Kobe and Gianna Bryant. Vanessa Bryant asked for continued__________of her family’s privacy as it is “going through this new reality”.

【推荐2】From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the Students Union. I always _______my school leaders for taking responsibility for all of us. So I dreamed of being a leader.

Years flew by, and soon I was able to take part in the elections, _______I would win. But the reality struck that I hadn’t had a chance. I wasn’t pretty. Girls across the school hardly knew me. I just did not have what it _______to win a school election. I was _______

As I cried in my room that evening, I_______took a deep breath and decided I wouldn’t stop dreaming. I decided that I would_______for elections again in my final year at school — and I would win.

I recognized that my_______had a lot of things in their favor (有利). What were the points that would work in _______ favor? I had good grades, and I was friendly and helpful. And my biggest_______was the faith (信念) I had. I would not allow my plain appearance to hold me __________ from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I __________ my election plans a whole year ahead of time.

I realized that girls would have to get to know me and recognize that I had the ability to__________them. I loved making friends and I liked being helpful, __________ I decided that perhaps I could use these qualities to work to my advantage. In order to learn how to present a great election__________, I also attended a course on effective public speaking.

The day after the election, when the principal announced I won the second highest number of votes, the students__________. That joy on the faces of all my friends showed me that my victory was__________theirs.

Suddenly, I realized that I had__________much more than I had dreamed of. I had made many new friends and had helped people __________ the way. I had won the __________and love of my school-mates and they knew me as somebody who would stand by them. I was able to put a smile on their faces and__________their day.

【推荐3】One time, I was with a bunch of strangers in India. I was giving a(n) ________ about our products when power went out. It was in a dark hall, and I was with two other workmates. We were so ________ because we had invited all these people here. It was a ________ talk. We couldn’t do anything about it. Our microphone (麦克风) was gone. There was no light. Everyone was sitting in ________, and I couldn’t help but ________, “Oh, my goodness.”

When the power went out, I felt like I should be in control of it, because I was ________ the event. While we were so embarrassed, we just kept ________ and talking in the dark, hoping people would stay. I felt it was really ridiculous because there were no windows and it was a dark hall.

All of a sudden, a man in the back put up his ________,and put the little light from his phone on. Then two more people, then three people, finally the whole ________ came on, and everyone was ________ their light of their phone on us. It ________ the whole hall.

And so I got out my phone and took a ________ of everyone with their light shining at me. It was the most beautiful ________—a feeling that we were all in this together. That was not anyone’s fault, and we were just all here, ________ each other.

It was the most beautiful feeling of love from strangers I’d ever ________.